Andy Murray Looks Forward to Playing in Rio Olympics Despite Threat of Zika Virus

Following the outbreak of the Zika virus, there have been concerns that many sportsmen, including Andy Murray, will be reluctant to participate in the Olympics this summer.

(Image credit: CNN)

The Scottish player stressed he’ll seek medical advice about Zika in Brazil, but despite the virus threat he made assurances that he plans on playing at the Rio Olympics this summer. “I will speak to a couple of doctors about it and see what their advice is. I plan on playing for sure but don’t know the exact situation there now. I need to get a little bit more information first before making a decision,” said the 29-year-old tennis star.

Andy Murray will be looking to defend his Olympic gold medal in Rio after first winning Men’s Singles event in the London 2012 Olympics by defeating Roger Federer in the final. Although he’s the defending champion in the Olympic event, online sportsbooks see him as the prime candidate to win it this year.

Current World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is the favourite to clinch Men’s Gold 1.80 (4/5) at Rio Olympics, per online sportsbook Betway. Andy Murray, the defending champion, is the underdog with far lower odds 5.50 (9/2), while Swiss star Roger Federer is third favourite 7.00 (6/1). Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka are not deemed favourites at this stage, with their chances of winning Men’s Goal minimal – 13.00 (12/1) and 15.00 (14/1) respectively.

(For more details about the online sportsbook, read Betting Herald’s Betway Sports Review.)

One of the tennis venues for the Olympics (Image credit: Rio 2016)

Although there are still some issues that need to be ironed out before the Games can commence, David Haggerty, the International Tennis Federation president, remains optimistic after coming back from his visit to Rio. “There are always going to be challenges economically in Brazil. The government is going through some changes. Even though everyone says things will be fine, I think you have to take everything with a grain of salt,” said Haggerty.

He also highlighted the current state of tennis facilities, but that everything is slowly “coming along.” “I was down there not too long ago, saw the courts, saw the facilities,” said the ITF president. “Things were coming along. They’re not completed yet. The lights weren’t finished, they’re still working on the court surrounds. But I felt confident and positive that when we get to ball-up and open the Games, we’ll be OK.”

Besides the Zika problem, organizers also face economic and political challenges which have caused a number of delays – something that was also a major concern for the World Cup when it was staged in Brazil two years ago. “We want to assure the athletes we’ll be working very closely with Rio, doing things to make sure it’s an Olympic experience for them,” the president stressed. “I know that cash flow is a problem for Rio and economically they’ve been challenged, but I think this is where sports need to step in where necessary to help and support each of their venues.”